2 hours ago
8
By God Alone and Silk & Silver are the two major DLCs coming as part of chapter five
Paradox have revealed the next round of expansions coming to medieval monarch strategiser Crusader Kings 3 as part of its fifth chapter of add-ons. The two major DLCs it includes - dubbed By God Alone and Silk & Silver - will let you play as two new types of ruler, theocratic religious bigwigs and money-driven republican merchants.
First up will be By God Alone, which is set to drop between the start of July and the end of September this year. As you might have gleaned from the name, it's a substantial rework of how religion works in the game, with a specific focus on the Christian faith. It'll be possible to jump into the Pope's shoes thanks to the addition of playable theocracies, with a bunch of religion-specific challenges to tackle on top of the usual medieval ruler gubbins.
If your game kicks off in 867, the earliest starting year CK3 offers, you'll likely have to deal with the "Great Schism between Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Throughout each playthrough, every Christian realm will also be subject to the ongoing Christian "situation" - this being a system designed to allow their religion to evolve over time via shifting tenets, beliefs, and heresies. On the more personal side, a new Spiritual Fulfillment system adds an extra dimension to characters' relationships with their faith, with sins and virtuous deeds not just influencing their stress level, but leading to wider questions about their standing with the almighty. That sounds like a recipe for some fun slides in which your evil despot grapples with the idea that they might not be headed upstairs when they pop their clogs.
Being a theocratic ruler also comes with unique tasks like setting up monastic orders, corralling cardinals, and managing holy sites. Then, for secular rulers, there's puppetry. No, I'm serious. "In order to interact with the political machinery of the church, secular rulers will be able to puppet clerical characters so they can act on their behalf," Paradox note. Better practice throwing your voice and not getting your marionette's strings tangled up.
Then, there's Silk & Silver, set to drop between the start of October and the end of the year. It introduces merchant republics, which you can rule as the head of a rich family with a mansion and more cash than they could spend in 50 lifetimes. Playing this way takes you closer to the realm of medieval capitalism simulator than feudalism simulator, with trading companies battling to establish trade routes, undercut each other, and eventually establish monopolies which can vault them to the top of the pile.
Merchant republics require the setting up of a constitution, and from there can form alliances and agreements with other republics, forming leagues and eventually powerful confederations. By default, republican playthroughs look to be aimed at mirroring the happenings in northern Italy during CK3's time.
Rounding out chapter five's DLCs are two smaller ones which are out now. Symbols of Authority is a clothing pack with some fetching crowns, while Songs of the Realm is a collection of extra music to beef up the soundtrack.
You'll get all four if you buy the Crusader Kings III: Chapter V bundle for £37 / $44 / €44, with neither By God Alone and Silk & Silver looking to have had standalone prices scrawled across them as of writing. For reference, last year's biggest expansion, All Under Heaven, was priced at £25. There's also the DLC subscription service Paradox launched last year to consider, if you're after other ways to pay the entry fee required to give these add-ons a go. Finally, before I go, CK3's free 1.19 update's now out in full - you can check out what it includes here.
English (US) ·